Surgical fasteners (including clips and staples) permit the surgeon to rapidly close a wound with a mechanical fastener which holds the tissue together while the wound heals. Both metallic and non-metallic fasteners are in common use. Some of the non-metallic fasteners are formed from bio-absorbable resinous materials such as blends of lactic acid/glycolide copolymer. Plastic materials of this type are widely known and commercially available under the trade names of "POLYSORB" and "LACTOMER" plastic. Typically fasteners made from these materials lose a substantial portion of their tensile strength after a few weeks of exposure to human tissue. After deployment in a mammalian body, the fasteners fragment and the pieces are metabolized by the body and therefore dissolve over time. In many applications the material is dyed to enhance visibility when the fastener is deployed. However, such dyed material can lead to an undesirable coloring or "tattooing" effect.
The principal advantage of surgical stapling is the speed with which a wound or incision can be closed. However, in certain surgical procedures it is desirable to close the skin wound with sutures lying completely in the dermis layer. This form of subcuticular suturing minimizes the occurrence of visible scarring. However, such subcuticular suturing is very tedious and is very time consuming to perform. At present surgical staplers and clips are not available for performing this type of closure.
An example of a surgical stapler is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,843 to Saravis. This patent teaches the use of a magazine feed stapler which delivers staples or the like at an advantageous angle.
An example of an absorbable fastener is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,741 to Smith. This patent teaches both a two piece staple and a ligating clip.